went on to beat Lawrence North in the championship match, 44-21, thus earning its first state title and wrapping up an undefeated season.

The Kingsmen close at 24-5, and will spend the off-season knowing that they finished within an inch of competing for the state title.

"Now, we have a new fueling point. What happened here today will be our inspiration for all of next season," said Penn coach Brad Harper, who had his team superbly prepared for the eight-team tournament.

Saturday's meet -- rumored to possibly be on the IHSAA's chopping block next year -- saw its biggest crowd in several years.

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It also saw some totally unexpected results. In a quarterfinal battle between No. 1 Crown Point and No. 2 Evansville Mater Dei, the winner was decided when Crown Point's coach attempted to enter one of his star wrestlers -- state champion Eric Roach -- in a weight class where he was not certified.

The bonehead move resulted in the Bulldogs losing Roach's services and Mater Dei winning by a score of 30-25.

Then, in the semifinals, unheralded Lawrence North came out of nowhere to upset Mater Dei, winning the match on tie-breaker criteria.

Penn tried to follow suit, and engaged in a neck-and-neck battle with Perry Meridian that saw six lead changes.

"We were confident coming down here," said senior team leader Alex Gregory, who did his part with a 4-0 victory over Perry Meridian's Joe Klinesmith. But he was frustrated by his inability to get a fall.

"We lost as a team," said Gregory. "Nobody is at fault here. I knew I was supposed to get a pin, and I couldn't get it. We had other guys who were supposed to get bonus points, and they didn't.

"You could tell that (Klinesmith) had been told to just lay down and not get pinned when I wrestled him. It was really frustrating."

Perry Meridian drew first blood when individual state runner-up Logan Cooper edged Penn's Devin Reagan, 6-2, in the 215-pound opener. But then the Kingsmen bounced right back with wins from Kade Maggart at heavyweight and Zach Davis at 103.

Sarah Hildebrandt -- who beat Bellmont's Jacob Girod in the morning quarterfinals -- fell to Perry Meridian's Cody LeCount, but Penn's Jacob Davis won at 119 to push the Kingsmen ahead by one.

Back and forth it went. Gregory, Dan Ginter and Grant Anglemyer won a huge string from 135-145, but Perry Meridian won at 152 and 160. Then, David Stevens took out Perry Meridian's Jacob Masengale at 171 to pull the Kingsmen within two points.

The deciding match at 189 had six lead changes of its own. Ham was up, 8-6, early in the third period before Tasseff hit the rolling takedown.

"I was trying to gather myself, but I waited too long and he got the (score)," said a despondent Ham afterwards.

"Ham wrestled a great match," pointed out Harper. "He didn't do anything wrong."

Against Bellmont, the Kingsmen hit on all cylinders, especially in the lighter weights. The Kingsmen won eight straight bouts from 103 to 145 and opened a 35-10 lead at one point.